Watching
by LaylaBinx
Summary: Jensen had been hunched over the laptop for nearly fifty hours straight trying to break through the last few layers of code. The only who had stayed in the room, keeping silent watch over the street below, was Cougar. Friendship fluff :P


**Hello all!! I have to agree with _xTornAsunderx_, there is an apalling lack of Losers fan fiction in this fandom! The movie and comic are both amazing and have a lot of potential but there's hardly anything in this archive =/ So, to remedy this problem, here's a fan fic :D Can be viewed as slash or friendship, I'm good with either because Jensen and Cougar are adorable in any setting =P Hope you all like it!!**

**I own nothing!! =(**

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Sometimes Jensen hated decrypting codes. Its not that it was difficult or that he couldn't do it, it was just time consuming and boring as hell. Most hard drives with anything worth knowing were layered, piles upon piles of code fragments and number sequences that prevented wandering eyes from seeing too much. They fought back, switched up, firewalled, froze, and did their best to keep their information hidden but to no avail. Jensen was a pro; he could make pretty much any computer in the world sing his name with enough time. And right now, they had an abundance of time on their hands.

Aisha had managed to get ahold of another hard drive and had passed it off to the computer tech to decode. There wasn't much that could be done until the files were decrypted so for the time being they were taking it easy in a slum neighborhood in New York. Well, the others were taking it easy; Jensen had been working his ass off for the past three days trying to break into the files.

He had gotten past the point of bitching about it, there was no point anyway. They needed whatever files were on the drive to get to Max and he was the only one of the group who could do that. He was the best at what he did, that's part of the reason Clay had hand-picked him for the team, and he wasn't about to quit now. Didn't make it suck any less though.

He'd been hunched over the laptop for nearly fifty hours straight trying to break through the last few layers of code. Pooch had decided to sit this one out, he was home trying to make up for the time he'd missed with his wife and son. It was understandable, no one could blame him for wanting to see his family, so he'd agreed to catch up with them as soon as they figured something out. That felt like weeks ago. Honestly, Jensen had lost all track of time, the only thing he could focus on was breaking through the hard drive. The entire world could have fallen apart outside their room and he never would have noticed. He had no idea where Aisha and Clay were, they'd drifted in and out for the past few days, disappearing for hours at a time to follow some kind of lead or anything else that may be of use to their search. The only who had stayed in the room, keeping silent watch over the street below, was Cougar.

It wasn't until the 42-hour mark that Jensen noticed the older man sitting in the corner, his hat pulled low and dark eyes scanning the neighborhood below them. It was almost startling to realize he'd been in the room the whole time and Jensen had taken a good minute to stare at him, convincing his sleep-deprived brain that the other man was real. "Jesus Coug, how long've you been there?" He mumbled, the words feeling heavy and foreign in his mouth.

The older man just shrugged slightly, keeping his eyes on the street below. "A while." He answered quietly. Cougar never said much, it was one of the first things Jensen noticed when they first met. Cougar usually said what he needed to say and left the rest to the others; he didn't feel the need to fill the silence with empty chatter. Jensen couldn't stand silence so that was usually his job.

"This can't be entertaining for you." He mumbled, going back to the codes and sequences sprawled across his screen. "You can turn on the TV or something." Cougar just shrugged again and looked back at the street. Another heavy silence fell between them, this one lasting nearly eight hours. To be honest, Jensen liked the company, even if Cougar didn't have much to say.

He was on the last leg of the codes, the final layer before the files were completely open. His whole body hurt, everything from his eyes down to his feet. His fingers were numb from typing and his eyes were strained behind his glasses, moving quickly to keep up with the never-ending stream of code. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cougar shift, the hat moving down a bit more and obscuring his eyes. If he didn't know any better, Jensen would have thought Cougar was watching him.

It wouldn't have been surprising; Cougar's job relied heavily on him paying attention to tiny details and locking onto them. As the long-range weapons specialist on the team, he had a habit of keeping an eye on the others, even if they didn't notice it. Jensen usually did though, there was something unnerving about feeling someone's gaze on you and in this line of work he'd managed to tune into that feeling and know when it was going on. In a team of thieves, its usually a bad side to be watched by others. For some reason though, he didn't mind as much when it was Cougar.

Jensen shifted in his chair a bit, partially to relieve some of the tension in his body and partially because it was a nervous habit he had when he was under scrutiny. His foot bumped against one of the many empty energy drink cans on the floor, the can rolling across the shabby carpet silently. There were probably at least fifteen down there; after about five they started to lose their effect. Mixing them together usually had better results so when it came to nights/days like this (Jensen honestly wasn't sure anymore), a Molotov cocktail of caffeine was usually his best friend. Plus, it helped take some of the edge of when you haven't slept for three days.

The last bit of encryption finally broke free about thirty minutes later, the files completely open and available for them to do whatever the hell they wanted with them. Jensen let his hands fall away from the keyboard, sitting back in the chair and staring blankly at the open screen. 53 hours. He had been sitting in the same chair, working on the same hard drive for 53 hours. He felt like he deserved a metal. Or at least a beer. Before he could voice these thoughts, someone spoke up in the corner.

"Finished?" Cougar asked, his body outlined in shadow.

The way the room was blurring together right now, Jensen couldn't really be sure where he ended and the darkness began. His eyes hurt from staring at the computer screen for so long and it was hard to make out much of anything in the dim light of the room. "Yeah..." He mumbled, dragging a hand over his eyes and keeping them closed for a few seconds. It felt like they'd been open for weeks. God, he wanted a shower...or a beer...or a bed...He wasn't sure what he wanted first, all he knew was that he was done with his part until they figured out the next step.

There was a shuffle of movement beside him and he looked up just in time to see Cougar turn the computer off, pitching the room into complete darkness. It was a bit like sensory deprivation for a second and Jensen froze. "Cougar, what the hell-?" He started and nearly jumped when a hand suddenly fisted the back of his shirt and pulled him out of the chair. His knees almost buckled from sitting down for so long and he was sure if it hadn't been for Cougar's hand in the back of his shirt he would have tumbled to the floor upon standing.

The older man practically dragged him away from the computer he'd been hunched over for the better part of two and a half days, keeping a firm grip on the back of his shirt. "What're you doin'?" Jensen mumbled, vaguely curious about Cougar's actions but too tired to put any serious thought into it. When no answer came immediately, he let the question drop, realizing he wasn't overly concerned with the answer to begin with. Once again, more of a question to fill empty space.

The material of his shirt was suddenly released and Cougar gently shoved him onto the edge of the nearest mattress. Jensen bounced slightly, looking up in confusion. "What that-?"

"Sleep." Cougar said simply, stepping away from the bed and taking his place back by the window. "The others will be back soon." With that, he settled back in the chair he'd been sitting in and turned his attention to the streets below once more.

Jensen managed a tired smile. Cougar may not be the most expressive member of their team but he knew how to look after them. Even though he hadn't said it, the message was clear: _Go to sleep, I'll keep watch_. With another sleepy smile, Jensen fell back onto the bed, feeling his sleep deprived body relax against the mattress. "Thanks man." He mumbled right before his body gave into the exhaustion he'd been fighting all day.

Just before he fell asleep, he saw Cougar nod in the darkness, keeping an eye on him from his position in the corner. "De nada." It was still a little unnerving to have someone keeping an eye on you but Jensen figured if it was Cougar he didn't mind as much.


End file.
